Tour Operators Worried Over Proposed Three Month Hidden Beach Closure Mexico News Daily
go to original May 8, 2016

The massively popular tourist destination known as Hidden Beach in the Marieta Islands National Park, off the coast of Nayarit, will close for three months beginning Monday after an overload of visitors triggered concerns over environmental damage.

But in the wake of other concerns expressed by marine tour operators, another destination will be opened on another of the islands at some point in the next three months.

The National Protected Areas Commission (Conanp) decided to close the park after Hidden Beach, also known as the Beach of Love, saw 2,500 visitors a day during Easter Week, the most recent vacation period.

The closure announcement was issued on April 14 and was followed by a huge increase in visitor numbers, with boats ferrying people to the islands from El Anclote, Nayarit, operating over capacity.

“Many more people have been coming. Above all there have been many families but couples as well, all fulfilling the wish of their loved ones to visit this place,” said El Anclote restaurant owner Juan Pelayo.

The popularity of the Beach of Love caught everyone by surprise. In 2012, 27,500 people visited. Three years later, that figure had increased by around 100,000 visitors...

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